Shireen Mazari, Federal Human Rights Minister, criticized the UK on Monday (9th August) for its excuses on keep Pakistan on the red list. She said that the British Government never asked for the Covid-19 data.
The United Kingdom uses a system of traffic lights for foreign travel. The low-risk countries are rated green, medium-risk countries are rated amber, and high-risk countries are placed on the red list. The countries placed in the red list require the arrivals to spend 10 days in isolation.
Due to the emergence of the Delta Variant, Pakistan was placed on the red list in early April, and India was added to the list on 19th April. In a recent update, the British government has moved India, Qatar, and UAE to amber while keeping Pakistan on the red list. This update was criticized by even their own lawmakers as well as everyone in Pakistan.
The minister published an article from The News on Twitter on Monday, according to which the UK cited a lack of vaccination and testing data as the rationale for keeping Pakistan on the list.
She claimed that the British government had never requested the information and that it was freely available. She added, “the National Command and Operation Centre has the most centralized and daily updated databases anywhere.”
The minister claimed that the UK government had previously given another justification, claiming that more Pakistani travelers had tested positive than Indians.
According to the BBC, British MPs of Pakistani lineage met virtually on Friday (7th August) with Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, according to the BBC.
One British lawmaker said that it’s evident from these sheets that Pakistan had up-to-date data, but I believe Pakistani officials should have shared it with the UK government and conducted effective lobbying.
Following the meeting, the planning minister tweeted that the panel had received data on Covid surveillance and Pakistan’s Covid reaction strategy. He stated that they will work with the UK government to ensure that red-list judgments are made based on science rather than politics.
